The Alberta government is considering a move to investigate procedures and decision-making on Edmonton city council.The Edmonton Journal reported Wednesday senior Alberta government officials confirmed Premier Danielle Smith is alarmed by what she is hearing and could step up to stabilize the City of Edmonton and audit its finances and corporate culture. While no plan has been finalized, multiple crises have been plaguing the city lately. Edmonton had a $52 million budget debt in 2023; increased property taxes by 6.6% in 2024; experienced an uproar over crime, homelessness open drug use and police removal of encampments; and bitter labour negotiations. Another issue is its crumbling bus fleet. From 2019 to 2022, the City of Edmonton spent more than $60 million on 60 new electric buses, but they struggle to operate in the cold and three-quarters of them are in the garage with poor immediate prospects for parts to fix them. Last week, it confirmed it must soon replace 300 regular buses at a cost of $250 million, but no money has been set aside to do so. In its most recent budget, Edmonton city council set aside $11.2 million to buy emissions-neutral city vehicles and $100 million for new bike lanes over four years.To top it all off, former City of Edmonton manager Andre Corbould announced his resignation, making him the seventh top bureaucrat to leave in the last year. Political insiders said there is fierce division on Edmonton city council and a culture of fear in administration.The desire of Edmonton city council to spend more on pet projects, the instability in upper management, the major property tax increase, huge debt and the possibility of more debt to come indicates the City of Edmonton could be on the road to insolvency.Edmonton Coun. Tim Cartmell said this “is the first I’ve heard of it.” “But I can understand the province’s apprehension,” said Cartmell. “Cities are creatures of the provincial government, governed by the Municipal Government Act, and when you see repeated departures at the highest levels of administration, that’s got to raise a question, so I don’t blame them for having questions.”Edmonton Coun. Sarah Hamilton said it “would be devastating for the city for that to happen.”“I know it will shake Edmontonians faith in their city council and our ability to get through this issue,” said Hamilton. “I don’t want people in city administration to be afraid.”In the last year, Hamilton said administration has seen a ton of change. She added she was afraid a move like this could signal more change. However, she acknowledged it might provide a sense of stability. “From what I know of the process, this isn’t something they would consider lightly,” she said. “They would have to have pretty substantial evidence or knowledge of evidence to proceed.”The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on Edmonton city council in November to rein in its salaries and spending splurges amid its 6.6% property tax hike. READ MORE: Taxpayer watchdog accuses Edmonton city council of spending problem“Ordinary working people didn’t get a nearly 7% pay increase this year, so what makes Edmonton city hall think these folks can afford this property tax hike?” said CTF Alberta Director Kris Sims. “The city clearly has a spending problem and it’s wasting taxpayers’ money on electric buses that don’t work.”
